Counting down the Chiefs biggest injury concerns down the stretch

2. Safety

The Chiefs came into the regular season quite loaded at safety, even if no one really noticed. Having seven wide receivers and four starting linebackers will overshadow things, and safety is really the most unsexy position on an NFL roster north of the specialists. It makes sense that so few noticed.

To refresh your memory, Justin Reid is a well-rounded veteran whose leadership and physical style work best to lead the unit. Bryan Cook came in as the new starter who had put in a year as a third safety to learn the ropes behind Reid and Juan Thornhill. Mike Edwards was signed to be the third safety after a breakout season in Tampa Bay, and Deon Bush was brought back on a one-year deal to keep the unit covered and contribute on special teams. From there, the Chiefs even drafted Chamarri Conner in the fourth round and brought back Nazeeh Johnson from a year ago as a promising undrafted free agent.

The good news is that the overall depth and talent were needed in a season like this and Brett Veach was wise to load up like he did. Johnson was lost in the preseason for the full year and Cook was lost a couple of weeks ago to IR, leaving the unit a bit depleted. Even more it's created greater demands on players who aren't as well-equipped for the roles involved.

Specifically, with Cook on IR, the Chiefs are asking starting reps of Edwards, and while he's a qualified backup who has made a greater transition than most, the truth is that he's better off as a third safety who can use his ballhawk skills in more opportune roles. Edwards can be beat when tasked with sitting in coverage consistently and teams like the Pats were able to pick on that (read: Hunter Henry).

The Chiefs might look fine on paper here, but those differences in talent make the differences in the postseason where mismatches become more pronounced.